What has bestselling author Dan Brown got to do with it? Read on to find out.
The term cryptex was coined by author Dan Brown in his bestselling novel The Da Vinci Code. It is a combination of the words 'cryptology which is the science of secret writing' and 'codex which means 'manuscript of ancient text.
In the book, the cryptex is depicted as a portable vault in the form of a sealed stone cylinder having rotating discs of marble stacked on each other. Each disc has 26 letters of the alphabet carved on it. The discs have to be aligned to spell a five-letter password to unlock the cryptex, which contains a thin papyrus scroll carrying the secret message. The scroll is wrapped around a delicate glass vial containing vinegar. If someone tries to open the cryptex by force, the vial breaks and the vinegar dissolves the papyrus before it is read.
Although cryptexes originated in fiction, they have quickly become a part of the real world thanks to artists who hold a fascination for puzzles and ciphers. Nowadays, different kinds of cryptexes are made and sold, some of them even customised to suit the buyer's needs.
Picture Credit : Google